Being Capable

I've learned it takes me 3 consistent weeks of practice to get my body to stop rebelling against a habit.

I started going to the gym again about 3 weeks ago, and there was one particular day where I spent half of it procrastinating because I knew it would suck. It had been months since I'd been consistent, and my body was starting to look and feel like Flubber. That visit, and the several following ones did indeed suck - I lifted far less than I was used to. But I did it anyway.

Today I'm celebrating - because after 3 weeks of consistently going to the gym, I woke up this morning with my body craving a workout. It's amazing how much aversion I had a few short weeks before, but here I am, on the other side, having recreated a momentum for myself.

Now I'm riding that momentum and find myself being pulled into the identity of fit man again - thinking about marathons, joining the 1000lb club, etc. If you extrapolate my last 3 consistent weeks into the next year, then anything is possible.

Avoiding doing the thing was a signal to myself that I'm someone that doesn't follow through. But now, after following through, it's like the dormant goals in my life are starting to brim with the excitement of being picked next.

I've gone through this wave many times, so I'm familiar with the shape of it. This time, I'm able to ride it with a little more awareness and care for the process, knowing that there's a slightly bolder new identity on the other side. Yet another reminder that we're more capable than we think, and all it takes is a small consistent habit to be reminded of it.

This post is part of a November writing challenge to write publicly 2x/week. Writing time = 40m